"19 Kids" Cancelled

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

Entertainment Weekly just posted this article about how much TLC is losing cancelling them.

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/05/ca ... s-counting

Not breaking because EW.

$19 million with the majority probably going to all those episodes they filmed and wont ever show and the crews that worked them. Especially if traveling was involved.

http://www.eonline.com/news/70141/which ... ted-series says that the budget of reality TV shows can run between $100k and 500k per 30 minute episode, and some other sites claim that Discovery networks pay substantially more for their programming than other networks because they have the audience to support the higher pay. Assuming that they went with the $500k budget per episode, that's $11,500,000 lost right there. And that's without any hour or longer specials. Since they definitely filmed the birth episode before shtf, that was probably another $500k, assuming they just went with doubling the pay. So, that'd bring it up to $12mill just in episodes (assuming there wasnt another special in there somewhere).

That leaves $7mill for things like legal fees, PR, filming the documentary (which they're probably including in this rundown because they're only doing it out of a reaction to the Duggars), publicity tours/interviews/events before the scandal, whatever deals they have with People, severance packages for the crew members that aren't currently working on a show right now because the show was canceled, etc.

None of that says how much the Duggars themselves actually made.

Actually, upon further reading, it says that it's PRIMARILY lost that amount of money because of 19KAC, so they could very well just be talking about the cost of the episodes that will never be shown exceeding the costs of other losses.

[RosyDaisy]

Entertainment Weekly just posted this article about how much TLC is losing cancelling them.

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/05/ca ... s-counting

Not breaking because EW.

It was still the right thing to do. Money be damned.

[Handmaiden of Dog]

I think their real cash cow was the reruns. Those reruns did not cost them a dime to air and they still were popular enough to be fully sponsored, in fact many people prefer the early shows because the kids were all so young and cute. I would be willing to bet that at some point those reruns will start airing again-- maybe in a few years TLC will test the waters by re-airing the wedding and birth specials.

[socalrules]

I think the bulk of what TLC lost was the revenue from the sponsors they lost as a result of the child molestation coming to light. It isn't as though had the show stayed on the air TLC would still be raking in the dough. Since the sponsors refused to air during the show, the show really became a loser for them. Putting the show back on the air would not get that money back. They would still lack sponsors. TLC can just write this off as a loss. I am sure they can do some creative accounting that will allow them to come out ahead.

[Idolatry]

It was still the right thing to do. Money be damned.

I only wish it were more. Compare what Oprah did, call the cops, with what tlc did. Someone has to live with that decision.

[greycat]

I only wish it were more. Compare what Oprah did, call the cops, with what tlc did. Someone has to live with that decision.

Im sure if it was brought to Oprahs attention for an hour episode quest spot, it would have been brought up to TLC for special after special that turned into a series. They had to of known, and did nothing.

[ShepherdontheRock]

Im sure if it was brought to Oprahs attention for an hour episode quest spot, it would have been brought up to TLC for special after special that turned into a series. They had to of known, and did nothing.

Someone had to have known something and REALLY dropped the ball. Or TLC doesn't care.

Hopefully someone's going to get fired.

[lascuba]

Im sure if it was brought to Oprahs attention for an hour episode quest spot, it would have been brought up to TLC for special after special that turned into a series. They had to of known, and did nothing.

Exactly. There's no way in hell top TLC/Discovery execs didn't know. Judging by the dates, the police/DHS investigation and the first special happened either at the same time or in close proximity. TLC had to have known that that was going on. All Harpo/Oprah knew was that some random person emailed them some rumors, and they still cancelled the Duggars' appearance. TLC/Discovery knew that the police and DHS were involved and they went ahead with filming and airing. They are trash.

[MatthewDuggar]

I have been thinking about this entire thing rather objectively. So it's supposed to be a "reality" show that follows the family in their everyday pursuit of life. It's supposed to be the everyday quirkiness, ups and downs that make the show what it is and make it entertaining. Given that generic (but false) premise, this scandal could and should have been a huge arch in the story line. Provided editing didn't exist, we could have seen the true reactions and affect this news coming out had on the family. But the truth is, like all "reality" shows, it's a scripted and perverted image of a family they way they want to be seen. I'm not suggesting that their privacy should have actually been invaded or anything, I'm just thinking abstractly about the concept of "reality" shows vs what they really are...

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

With how long it took them to cancel the Duggars, with the kind of PR they're still doing to try to save the Duggar's image, etc, they've known for a LONG time. They didn't just discover this, or they would have reacted the same as they did with Honey Boo Boo, maybe even more violently. They wouldn't have offered the Duggar's a PR team (that the Duggars rejected for Huckabee's team), they would have pulled the reruns immediately (especially the early ones), they wouldn't have suddenly done a Duggar marathon, they wouldn't be considering a spin off, they wouldn't be doing a special involving the Duggar girls, etc. They're knee deep in this shit and still hoping for a Hail Mary pass that'll allow them to go back to making a shit ton of money off this family.

[SassyPants]

Exactly. There's no way in hell top TLC/Discovery execs didn't know. Judging by the dates, the police/DHS investigation and the first special happened either at the same time or in close proximity. TLC had to have known that that was going on. All Harpo/Oprah knew was that some random person emailed them some rumors, and they still cancelled the Duggars' appearance. TLC/Discovery knew that the police and DHS were involved and they went ahead with filming and airing. They are trash.

And if the Pastor who has come forward after the scandal was exposed is to be believed, the head of the FRC knew about "the rumors" before they hired Josh.

Link was posted to this group in May.

[SportsgalAnnie]

I honestly wonder why Oprah didnt fight harder to get the story exposed when she found out.

[JenniferJuniper]

I honestly wonder why Oprah didnt fight harder to get the story exposed when she found out.

She couldn't do any more than she did.

She (or more likely her peeps) notified the authorities. From that point it was in their hands. She was not going to be updated by them and she had no way of knowing if the author of the email was just a Duggar hater and making the story up.

The authorities did not press charges.

If Oprah took it any further, she could have been accused of slander or libel by the Duggars if the story wasn't true. And she had no way of knowing the truth.

[JesusPony]

I'm no Oprah fan, but I think she did the most she could: She got a tip and reported it to the proper authorities. She didn't witness anything. Making it public would further harm the victims, especially at that point. Oprah is a victim of child sex abuse herself.

[ShepherdontheRock]

She couldn't do any more than she did.

She (or more likely her peeps) notified the authorities. From that point it was in their hands. She was not going to be updated by them and she had no way of knowing if the author of the email was just a Duggar hater and making the story up.

The authorities did not press charges.

If Oprah took it any further, she could have been accused of slander or libel by the Duggars if the story wasn't true. And she had no way of knowing the truth.

I think Oprah/Harpo did the right thing. As much as they could, and I don't even know if they're mandatory reporters. I don't think they viewed it as necessary to go flaming them to every tabloid/newspaper. In fact, I think they probably wanted to avoid making a big deal as much as possible. Thus why Oprah's not saying anything now.

Really sad how Oprah gave more of a damn about those girls than their own parents did.

[socalrules]

Getting the story exposed means basically outing the victims. For what purpose would Oprah do that? She didn't even have any reason to believe it was true. She just had an email making allegations that could have been false. Calling the authorities was the only thing she could do. Oprah didn't do salacious shows you would see on Jerry Springer or Maury Povich. She wasn't going to potentially further scar children for ratings. Oprah took the correct and cautious road.

Also, we have to remember that when Oprah's people received the email, the Duggars were nobodies. They had many one or two specials under their belts. There wouldn't have been a scandal when no one knew who they were. There would have been no fox interviews or press releases from Huckabee. I didn't even know they existed until the show had been on a few years and I watch all kinds of crap.

[Idolatry]

I'm no Oprah fan, but I think she did the most she could: She got a tip and reported it to the proper authorities. She didn't witness anything. Making it public would further harm the victims, especially at that point. Oprah is a victim of child sex abuse herself.

Oprah did more than that. Oprah also canceled the taping. That should have been a SCREAMING RED FLAG.

[RosyDaisy]

Here's what gets me about the Oprah thing. Her network OWN is part of Discovery Networks. How could she enter into that arrangement knowing that TLC was carrying 19KAC. She is a sexual abuse survivor and a very wealthy, influential woman. She could have put more pressure on DHS and local authorities for a more in depth investigation and pushed for the cancellation of 19KAC as a condition of OWN joining Discovery Networks. But, she sold out to the almighty dollar. instead

[RosyDaisy]

Oh, and if people think local authorities don't bow down to pressure from wealthy influential people, then they are delusional.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

Here's what gets me about the Oprah thing. Her network OWN is part of Discovery Networks. How could she enter into that arrangement knowing that TLC was carrying 19KAC. She is a sexual abuse survivor and a very wealthy, influential woman. She could have put more pressure on DHS and local authorities for a more in depth investigation and pushed for the cancellation of 19KAC as a condition of OWN joining Discovery Networks. But, she sold out to the almighty dollar. instead

As someone stated before, Oprah wouldn't have been kept up to date on the findings during the investigation. She received a tip from someone about the family and reported it to the police. For all she knew, the tip was fake and nothing ever came of it.

[dianapavelovna]

As someone stated before, Oprah wouldn't have been kept up to date on the findings during the investigation. She received a tip from someone about the family and reported it to the police. For all she knew, the tip was fake and nothing ever came of it.

Obviously I don't know if this is so, but Oprah could've known that the allegations were substantiated or further investigated. In my state, reporters receive a letter after the investigation concludes vaguely letting them know what happened ("Thank you for your concern, we determined that this family was/was not in need of our services"). But Oprah would have no way of knowing what treatment was or wasn't received or what still was or wasn't going on in the family. And the fact that there was sexual abuse in a family does not automatically make it inappropriate for them to have a cheesy reality show. If Jim Bob & Michelle had handled the abuse more appropriately, if the family's beliefs weren't so hypocritical, I doubt the scandal would've played out as it did. It would've been a bombshell, for sure, but under different circumstances, the "it was a tragic time for our family but it was taken care of & we're all happy now" line might've been reasonable and believable.

tl;dr It's absurd to hold Oprah responsible for knowing intimate details of all the families somehow employed by Discovery when she started her network.

[Mama Mia]

Obviously I don't know if this is so, but Oprah could've known that the allegations were substantiated or further investigated. In my state, reporters receive a letter after the investigation concludes vaguely letting them know what happened ("Thank you for your concern, we determined that this family was/was not in need of our services"). But Oprah would have no way of knowing what treatment was or wasn't received or what still was or wasn't going on in the family. And the fact that there was sexual abuse in a family does not automatically make it inappropriate for them to have a cheesy reality show. If Jim Bob & Michelle had handled the abuse more appropriately, if the family's beliefs weren't so hypocritical, I doubt the scandal would've played out as it did. It would've been a bombshell, for sure, but under different circumstances, the "it was a tragic time for our family but it was taken care of & we're all happy now" line might've been reasonable and believable.

tl;dr It's absurd to hold Oprah responsible for knowing intimate details of all the families somehow employed by Discovery when she started her network.

I'm really, really surprised that your state office notifies people who make reports about the status of the case, even in a very vague way.

I think if the scandal had broken in 2006 the show would have gone on for one very simple reason -- social media wasn't as big of a thing. There were still comments on stories, but not the viral mob mentality that has come about with Twitter and Instagram and Facebook.

[MatthewDuggar]

Based on what we know, I think Oprah/Harpo did what needed to be done. She's not the police. I'm sure this isn't the only potential criminal allegation case she's come across in her career. Like other's have said, she had no idea how the situation was being or hand been handled at the time and any more private investigation or whistle blowing by her camp certainly would have upset the victims much more than it did when it finally came out. I'd think differently about this if her focus was more of a 20/20 or America's Most Wanted type vein....

[RosyDaisy]

Obviously Oprah knew there was some substance to to the allegations or she wouldn't have cancelled the interview, and she wouldn't have OWN be part of Discovery Networks. Given the type of person she is, it doesn't make sense that she would just say "oh well, I tried" and let it go. At the very least she should have confronted JB while they were still in Chicago. Remember, she wined and dined them for a while leading up to the cancelled interview. If FJ finds the Duggars as creepy as hell (pre scandal), then Oprah most definitely would have.

Anyway, the ball was dropped all around, and there's enough blame to go around. I just wish this scandal would have broke when the abuse first started and every single child removed from JB and Michelle custody.

[greycat]

Oh, and if people think local authorities don't bow down to pressure from wealthy influential people, then they are delusional.

This is so very true! I've lived in a few small towns/villages my whole life, and it seems that every event, every village decision, and police incidents involve the influence of one family. Just because of a lastname.